


The Importance of Being Honest

by princeprincess



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5 Years Post-Canon, Anal Sex, And so was Sokka, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Zuko (Avatar), Fire Lord Zuko, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Rimming, Scent Kink, Sokka Has a Big Dick, Top Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko Has a Dumptruck Ass, Zuko was crushing hard, no beta we die like men, sweat kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:08:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25169710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeprincess/pseuds/princeprincess
Summary: The people need more of Zuko being a clueless, emotional, desperate bottom. And I'm going to give it to them.Zuko loves Sokka, but is being a huge weenie about it. Sokka obviously loves him too, and he might have a few tricks up his sleeve to get a certain grumpy Fire Lord to finally cave. Takes place five years after the end of the war.Takes a bit to get to E, but when it gets there, it gets there.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 819





	The Importance of Being Honest

“Zuko, we’re not missing out on beach time because some minister needs you to hold his hand while he does his job! Put the quill down and get your bags!”

Zuko gave Sokka a crooked smile.

“You know, you shouldn’t talk about the minister of trade like that. And you shouldn’t make a habit of giving the Fire Lord orders.”

Sokka came up behind Zuko, who was sitting at his desk, signing some papers last-minute before the gang set off for their annual vacation on Ember Island.

“Oh, how could I forget, your flameyness!! Please do forgive a common Ambassador in your service. Oh wait, unless…”

Sokka quickly grabbed the crown out from Zuko’s top knot and bolted across the room.

“NO CROWN NO FIRE LORD YOU WANT IT YOU GOTTA GET IT!”

Zuko recalled a story about his grandfather having a servant burnt alive for accidentally touching that very crown. How times have changed. 

Zuko sighed, feigning exasperation for a moment. Oh no, one of Sokka’s fun antics. How could he. What a monster. How dare he insist on being himself, on making Zuko’s stomach do a backflips with every dumb joke, every bout of raucous laughter. He put up a rather weak façade, just enough, he thought, not draw Sokka’s attention (or anyone else’s), to play the part of grumpy Fire Lord rolling his eyes at his friend. 

Zuko walked over to his bed, atop of which rested a small bag. He dispensed with the robes and adornments of his title when he and his friends went to the island. Usually, he’d put his crown on his bedside table, but it seems as if Sokka had other plans. An heirloom passed down through generations of his family, and he’d let Sokka throw it in the ocean if it meant he would smile at him. Look at him, just for a moment, the way he wanted Sokka to look at him. 

Another sigh. He grabbed his bag, and went off in pursuit. He wouldn’t dare try to keep Sokka from his beach any longer. 

\------------

“Uhhh, you’re being quieter than usual. What’s your deal?”

Zuko didn’t mean to be so quiet, he was just staring out into space, enjoying the view from Appa’s heights, until Sokka pulled him back into reality.

“My deal is the same as it always is, water boy, broody dangerous fire man. Have a problem with it?”

Another crooked smile, met in kind. 

Truthfully, Zuko was feeling a little down. He always was, of course. If it’s not the anxieties of the past five years spent rebuilding a world his family broke, it’s the dull, constant ache of being close to someone you’re in love with. Having Sokka as Ambassador was a practical no-brainer, but it’s become one of Zuko’s daily torments. Somedays he’d rather go up against his sister again than have that bubbly man bounce around his palace, just to maybe forget his feelings for a moment. And this trip didn’t help much either. For the next week they’d be even closer together, Sokka even more Sokka-er than usual, punctuated by long periods of shirtlessness. It’s not that Zuko didn’t enjoy these times with his friends, but they were also fraught in a number of heart-breaking, bathing-suit-tightening ways. 

Katara piped in. “Leave Zuko alone, Sokka, don’t you think you give him enough of a hard time at work every day?”

“Oh, not nearly, dear sister. I could always be giving our dear flameyness a harder time.”

Zuko gulped and looked away, sure he was hiding his slight blush. 

\---------

They arrived at Zuko’s family’s home around mid-morning, and everyone dumped their bags, quickly changed, and made quick work of getting to the beach. Zuko trailed a little behind, straightening up a bit and taking his friend’s bags to their rooms. 

He was just about to put Sokka’s bag down when a loud “HEY!” almost made him jump out of his skin. He turned around to find Sokka, back from the beach, bathing-suit clad. Even inside, his golden skin glowed, and Zuko literally, physically, under no circumstances, could not stop his eyes from a quick up-and-down of Sokka’s lean, muscular body. Returning to consciousness after a moment, Zuko acknowledged the startling presence.

“Can I help you?”

“Well one, hurry the fuck up, its beach time. And two, I actually want to switch up my room this year.”

“Oh yeah? First time you came here you made a beeline for the biggest bed and haven’t moved in five years. You know how weird it is, right, to have you sleep in my father’s old room?”

“Yes yes yes evil evil mattress. Well I was thinking that, since you’re all Fire Lord-y now you should have that room, and I can take the room right next to it.”

“You’re sure? That room is tiny. It used to be a servant’s room, that’s why it adjoins with the master.”

“Yes, I am absolutely sure. I’ve racked up enough time with giant soft haunted bed. And besides, an adjoining room with you doesn’t sound so bad, in fact it makes it easier for me to come in and wake you up at dawn every day to go swimming with me. I think it’s a win-win.”

Zuko smiled at him, a little uneasy. 

“OK, you can have my servant’s quarters, if you insist. But if the sun isn’t at least halfway up when you wake me, you’ll wish my father was still sleeping in that room.”

Sokka laughed and started to bound off, yelling something behind him about Zuko’s pale skin desperately needing some sun. He wasn’t wrong.

\----------

Their first day at the beach was more torture than Zuko had anticipated. When he made it to the beach, Sokka moved his towel so he was right next to him. He’d just come out of the water and wanted some sun, so Zuko had a front-row seat to Sokka’s glowy, glisteny, body, only slightly obscured by his blue, short, clingy, wet bathing suit. Zuko noticed Sokka was wearing it a little lower than usual, and he couldn’t help but linger for a second on the dark dusting of hair leading down into Sokka’s shorts. He pulled his knees to his chest, hopefully hiding his building arousal. 

Sokka, eyes still closed, called out to him. “Umm, Zuko, would you mind just trying, a teeny bit, just a smidge, to relax? You’re basically still fully dressed, and I can feel the tension radiating off your body. Bad vibes buddy. If you don’t loosen up, I’m going to have to come over and give you a massage—”

“No! No that’s fine, I’m good. Here, if I take my shirt off, will you be happy?”

“Very.”

Zuko groaned very loudly, inside his head, as he pulled off his maroon tunic. Zuko hated being shirtless. He’d packed on quite a bit of muscle the last few years, something of which he was very proud, but his pale skin also glowed in the sunlight, and not in the fun sexy way Sokka’s did. And in this particular moment, he really couldn’t bear to have Sokka look at him. A single, misplaced glance could send unfortunate signals firing in Zuko’s brain, conjuring up those nightmarish fantasies in which Zuko allows himself to imagine a world in which Sokka was looking at him the way he wanted Sokka to look at him. Eventually, his panic subsided, as did his dick, and he was able to lay out next to Sokka. 

“Zuko, this year feels really different.” 

“Really? How so? It feels pretty much the same to me.”

“I don’t know. I have a bad feeling. Like something is going to change between us all. We’ve all been so close for so long, and except for a few tough months with you at the beginning, we’ve all managed to not let anything get in the way of our friendships. I’m worried that I… I might do something to mess that all up.”

“Sokka, you’re the least likely person to drive a wedge between any of us. If anyone is going to rain destruction on our little gang, it’s me.” 

Sokka sighed. “Don’t be so sure of that, your flameyness. I might be fun sarcasm boomerang guy, but I got secrets too, just like everyone else.” 

Zuko kept quiet for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, he got an awful idea. 

“Sokka, you know what really helps when you’re engulfed in a cloud of dread? And trust me, I’m the expert here. All you've got to do is… beat me to the water!!!”

Zuko sprang up and bolted for the ocean, Sokka fast on his heels. Zuko managed to get a good bit into the water before he felt Sokka’s arms wrap around his waist, dragging him down into the water in a swift tackle. Zuko could have sworn that Sokka kept his grip around Zuko for just a second longer, that he pressed his chest into Zuko’s back just the slightest bit. He was so fucked. 

\------

The group ate dinner together that night, and then commenced their annual ritual of rehashing the events of their first trip to Ember Island, particularly some reenacting of a certain horrible play. Enough time had passed that they all were able to get a good laugh out of it. Sokka maintained that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the original production, as did Toph. 

As the night proceeded, they opened up a couple bottles of wine Zuko had stored away. Aang and Katara kept themselves to a reasonable amount, while Zuko, Sokka, and Toph helped themselves to a little beyond reasonable. After a few hours of that, the group lulled themselves into a slow, relaxed conversation, which Toph turned into another of Zuko’s worst nightmares. 

“So, you’re really telling me you still aren’t seeing anyone, fire boy? You and Mai broke up years ago, what’s going on?”

Zuko went white. Sokka laughed.

“Toph, you should see the people that just throw themselves at Zuko! He’s constantly getting called upon by the most beautiful women, and a good helping of gorgeous, muscly men too! But he sends them all packing. Try and talk some sense into him, please, for the sake of those like me, at whom no one is throwing anything.”

“Yeah what gives Zuko? I get not falling in love with any of those butt kissers, but come on, you haven’t just slept with a couple of 'em?”

“No! No, I am not having this conversation.”

“Yes, we are!” yelled Sokka, rousing a sleepy Aang and Katara. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this forever. Spill, Zuko.”

“I just… I just don’t feel… that way about anyone right now, okay?”

Toph gasped. “You’re lying!! How could you think that was going to get by me??”

“I’m not lying!”

“Yes, yes you are. You’re no Azula, you’re completely transparent to me and my feet. Who is it??”

“I’m not telling—”

“SO THERE IS SOMEONE!”

Sokka was leaning in close to the conversation now, eyes alight. Zuko couldn’t look at him, he just tried to stare intently at the wall across from him.

“Fine, yes, there is someone I—”

“WHO??” Both Toph and Sokka bellowed.

“I am absolutely not telling you.”

“Come on Zuko, we’re your best friends, you gotta!”

“Yeah!” Sokka chimed in, “Maybe we can even give you some help? I can certainly turn a grumpy royal into a successful flirt.”

“I doubt it. Besides, umm, you don’t know this person.”

“Are you kidding me, Zuko?? Another lie??”

Fuck fuck fuck. This is not ideal, Zuko thought, his grip tightening around the edges of the cushion beneath him.

“Fine, you know them.”

“Okay, so you won’t give us a name, fine. We can narrow it down. Man or woman?”

His grip, somehow, tightened even more. 

Through gritted teeth, he let out, “It’s a man. And I won’t be telling you anything else so drop it.”

Gasps across the table. Sokka stepped in, “Okay guys we’ve had our fun. Besides, it’s a capital offense to embarrass the Fire Lord. And, like Toph said, we can probably work it out on our own later!” 

Zuko shot him an annoyed look. Sokka just smiled back, adding a wink. 

They kept drinking for a while longer, Toph pivoting the conversation so she could talk about how she stared another underground earthbending club. Zuko listened, putting on a face of rapt attention, but inside he was vibrating with nerves. Sokka is going to work it out on his own. He’s been so obvious, so stupid. Sokka’s going to figure it out and never want to talk to him again, will probably leave the Fire Nation, will probably never come back here with Zuko again. Sokka was right about something awful happening, but he was dead wrong about whose fault it would be. 

After a few more minutes of chat, Zuko stood, saying he was off to bed. Too much to drink, long day, blah blah blah. Truth was, he wanted to continue having his nervous breakdown in the privacy of his own room, swaddled in the ridiculously comfortable bed his father, surprisingly, picked out himself. 

\----------

Zuko had calmed down a bit, and after laying on the bed, fully clothed, staring up at the ceiling in silence for an hour, he eventually managed to get up, strip down to some light sleeping shorts, and climb into bed. As he was about to fall asleep, he heard a knock on his door. 

“Zuuukooooooo”

“Yeeeessssss”

“Can I come in?”

“Can I stop you?”

“Nope!” Sokka let out as he ran across the room, jumping to plop down on the bed at Zuko’s feet. He sat there, cross-legged, similarly dressed as Zuko. He must have gotten ready for bed first, before coming to visit. He was also still clearly a little tipsy, his speech slurring slightly.

“What’s up, Sokka?” Zuko said, getting up to lean on his elbows. 

“Soooo here’s the thing. You… you were right?”

Zuko was confused. “Of course I was. Right about what?”

“That servant’s bed is horrific. Like a full rock. For Toph? A luxury hotel. For me? Absolute torture.”

“I told you you wouldn’t want to sleep in there! Go take one of the other empty rooms.”

“Soooo that’s the other thing. I don’t want to do that, at all. I want the evil comfy bed, and I think there’s plenty room in here for two of us.” 

Zuko sighed, looked down. Bad idea. Say no. Horrible, no good, awful idea. Say no!!!

“Fine,” he said, adding, through gritted teeth, “but no cuddling.” 

“Yay! Thank you, supreme ruler of all things hot and steamy. On that condition, however, I make no assurances. You and I both know I’m a cuddler, and there’s nothing to be done about it.”

You must just fucking hate yourself, Zuko thought to himself, as Sokka climbed under the covers on the other side of the bed. You WANT him to cuddle you. You LOVE this. Couldn’t he think for a second with his brain and not his heart/dick/whatever else? You want him to press up against you in the night, you want to wake up with your head on his chest, your hand on his… FUCK. 

Sokka kept a little distance, but did scoot over so his face was just a little bit away from Zuko’s. Zuko could start to feel the slow creep of Sokka’s body heat inching towards him. 

“Zuko, can I tell you something?”

Fuck. “Yeah, sure.” 

“I guess it’s not really telling you something. Well kinda. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for giving you a hard time before, about all the love stuff. I shouldn’t have been egging Toph on. I know… I know you’re not happy about whatever’s going on … No no don’t try and say anything, I’m your best friend, I can tell when you’re unhappy… well, more unhappy than usual. Anyways, I’m sorry. I… I’m in a similar situation, it’s bad karma for me to make fun of you for that.” 

Zuko’s heart fell through the mattress. Now he was going to stay up all night imagining the different people Sokka is in love with and thinking of ways to get them thrown in the Boiling Rock. But he had to play it cool, quickly. He had a lot of practice with that. 

“So, are you sorry, or are you just afraid of bad karma?” 

Sokka shoved him. “I’m… I’m sorry.” 

“Apology accepted. I’m sorry, too, that you… you know. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m always here.”

Sokka rolled over away from Zuko. “Yeah, maybe. Thanks.” 

As Zuko began to run through this first list of Sokka’s possible love interests, he felt Sokka’s foot move and cross over his, joining them at the ankle. 

\----------

True to his word, Sokka’s sleeping form found its way over to nuzzle against Zuko’s side in the middle of the night. Zuko was awake when it happened, unable to sleep. Sokka flopped over basically on top of him, leg crossed over his, arm crossed over his bare waist. This move sent Zuko into a slightly more comfortable fantasy realm than the previous dreams of summary executions of everyone who’s ever talked to Sokka. He was still the Fire Lord; he’s got to keep a little evil. But with Sokka’s sleeping embrace came those visions of a certain bright and shiny future. Amidst that fantasy, he was able to fall asleep. 

He awoke a few hours later, rising with the sun, to horror. 

There were a number of things rising with the sun. First, Zuko awoke to find himself painfully, ridiculously, hard. He’d moved the covers off himself in his sleep, so his tented erection was just out there, angrily jutting out in the direction of Sokka’s sleeping face, his open mouth mere feet from where his cock leaked slightly onto his shorts. In a panic, Zuko tried to grab at the traitorous covers, moving as little as possible, so as to not arouse Sokka to the presence of his own arousal. Thank the spirits, he was successful. Kind of. 

Zuko’s slight motion did cause the still-sleeping Sokka to shift a little bit. More than a little bit. The hand he had draped over Zuko’s side, just dangling next to his stomach, grabbed around Zuko’s waist, pulling the two tighter together. Sokka’s leg, still draped over his, also tightened around him, his thigh mere inches from rubbing up against Zuko’s now-somehow-even-harder cock.

After Zuko’s momentary panic subsided. The second horror hit. Something was pressed up against his side. Something hard. Zuko stared up at the ceiling, mouth agape. Something hard, and something huge. Zuko always imagined Sokka had a big cock, something about his vibe, and the filled-out curve of his crotch in tight bathing suits. And now he knew, for a fact, that Sokka was packing serious heat. Heat which was burning through Zuko’s side. Sokka, hopefully still sleeping, shifted just enough so that his dick rubbed against Zuko’s side. 

On the one hand, Zuko now thought he could die a happy and satisfied man. Although not in the sweaty, rough, loud manner in which his fantasies usually played out, he was has having some quasi-sexual contact with the man for whom he’d carried a massive torch for years. 

But he couldn’t justify staying there any longer. Well, he could, but by sheer force of will he was able to talk his body into slowly creeping sideways towards the edge of the bed. He stopped, for a moment, when Sokka’s limp hand came to rest on his abs. Biting his lip, he stored as much of that sensation away for use in later, private times, before moving on, eventually getting out of the bed without waking the sleeping Sokka. Or so he hoped. He rose quickly, turning away from Sokka, just in case, so he could obscure his still raging erection. He walked awkwardly over to the desk chair, over which he draped a thin maroon robe. After covering himself just enough, he walked to the sliding door in the corner of the room, stepping out onto the balcony. Once the door finally closed behind him, he let out of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

The sun was almost all the way up now, and Zuko was greeted by the Ember Island vista – orange sun casting its light into pink and purple clouds, all reflected off the slowly-churning waters of the sea. It was enough beauty to momentarily pierce his horny dread. 

He sat down against the back wall of the balcony, pulling his legs into his chest, burying his face. This was getting to be a bit too much. Normally he was able to push the ache of it all down, keep a cool composure. But all this… Sokka on the beach, Sokka in his bed, Sokka’s hand around his waist, Sokka’s quiet admission as they drifted off to sleep… it was getting to be too much. He felt his eyes well up. 

Sometimes, in his more disciplined, disengaged moments, he was able to convince himself that what he felt for Sokka was entirely physical, and could be purged by a succession of one-night stands. Every so often, he would give it a whirl, allowing a handful of those screaming suitors into his bed. Undoubtedly, all that would make him feel a thousand times worse. It would always start out fun, but always it would end with Zuko feeling completely numb, mindlessly fucking whoever was the last poor soul to be let in. He usually couldn’t even cum. Or if he could, it was because he allowed himself to split just so slightly from reality, conjuring the fantasy of Sokka’s body hanging above him, kissing him, thrusting into him. 

And it was at the end of those phases that he realized what he’d certainly already knew. He was desperately in love with him. And he had been for a really long time. He could pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Sokka, a moment he replayed in his mind often. 

It was their second day at the Boiling Rock. Sokka had opened up to him on the way there about his family, Yue, all this stuff Zuko never knew was hiding behind the boy’s smiling face. Zuko had let a little bit of himself slip through as well. At night on the second day, he and Sokka were walking around the prison’s outer balconies, pretending to be on patrol. They stopped for a bit to sit down, dangling their legs over the balcony’s edge, resting their heads against the iron railing. 

Sure, Zuko had noticed, before this moment, that Sokka was incredibly attractive. He had eyes. And if Sokka had found his way into his tent one night, Zuko certainly would not have kicked him out. And he liked being friends with Sokka, liked it a lot. Sokka brought a brightness to everything, something Zuko secretly craved. He never backed down from Zuko’s surly demeanor, never stopped trying to pull a smile from Zuko’s permanent scowl. Truthfully, no one had made more of an effort to make Zuko happy. Sure, okay, his uncle did, but this was different.

After a few minutes of silence, Sokka whispered over to Zuko. “Thank you, Zuko, for coming here with me. I don’t think I could have done this without you here. Yeah, I mean I guess I could’ve kicked all these Fire Nation butts all by myself, but its… its better being here with you. I just…”

“Yeah?”

“I just can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt here, or captured, or worse.”

Zuko smiled. “Why, because the Avatar would lose his firebending teacher?”

Sokka shoved him, in a manner Zuko had gotten quite used to. 

“No, dummy. I care about you, Zuko. You’re… you’re my friend, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Not when you risked so much to help me. And if you get captured… I promise I’ll come back for you.” He said, reaching out his hand to grab Zuko’s.

Zuko didn’t know what to say in that moment, but that was it. That’s when his heart sunk into his stomach. And when he looked up to meet Sokka’s blue eyes, his mouth dried up, and his hands started to shake through their grip on the railing. It was overwhelming, coming over him all at once, a feeling he was unfamiliar with, but was unmistakable. 

“Thank you, Sokka. I, um… I’d come back for you too.” Was all he could muster. 

It was honestly pathetic. Zuko fell so hard because Sokka was the first person, again besides his uncle, who clearly, convincingly, genuinely conveyed to Zuko that he cared whether he lived or died. That he appreciated his company. Sokka cared about him. It was such a foreign feeling to Zuko, something he didn’t quite know how to respond to, except with an unspeakable, uncontrollable rush of feeling, an attachment born from the simple act of being noticed, appreciated, thought about, cared for. Sokka’s simple promise, aided by Zuko’s crippling mommy AND daddy issues, opened the floodgates, and the water tribe boy had been in his mind, behind his eyelids, silently on lips ever since.

Thinking about it all again just made Zuko cry in earnest now. And so, he sat on the balcony as the sun continued to rise, crying to himself in silence, as the man he loved slept in his bed, mere feet away from him. 

\---------

Zuko had heard Sokka get up a few hours later, calling for him in a sleepy, stretching voice. He became confused by Zuko’s absence, and proceeded to mutter to himself about Zuko’s distaste for cuddling, cursing his raging hangover in the process. Zuko heard him flop back down on the bed, and could just barely hear him whisper to himself. 

“Fuck, Sokka, what did you do?” 

Zuko stayed put until he was sure that Sokka had left the room. And then he stayed put a little longer. Long enough to see Aang dragging Sokka by the hand down towards the beach, shouting loudly about how Sokka promised to take him sailing. He made his way downstairs after that, hoping to secret himself out of the house and continue his sulking on the beach, when he ran into Katara.

“Zuko! Where were you? Sokka was asking about you. I think he wanted you to help him get out of sailing with Aang”

“I, um, I went for a long walk this morning. I… couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Well, I hope you’re not too tired to come down to the beach with us! Come on, we won’t bug you or anything, Toph’ll even throw up a little sandbent tent, how’s that?”

Zuko smiled at her, nodding slightly. “Deal.”

Katara excitedly grabbed all their beach stuff, clearly not picking up on the fact that both Zuko and Toph were nursing headaches from the night before. She dragged them all down to the beach, laid out three towels, and plopped down on the middle one. Toph followed suit, almost immediately falling asleep once her head hit the towel. Zuko laid down, his hands behind his head. They sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in some sun, before Katara rolled on her side towards Zuko. Propping her head against her hand, she raised an eyebrow. 

“Can I help you, Katara?”

“Zuko please, I’m so good at secrets, come on Toph is asleep!!”

This again.

“You all are never going to give up on this, are you?”

“Never.”

“I can’t tell you who it is, Katara. It’s not… it’s not a good situation. Telling you, telling anybody, would… well it would have consequences.” 

“How cryptic! It can’t be as bad as all that. What, is it the Earth King?”

Zuko smiled at her, slightly relieved by her joke. “Yes, absolutely. I’m in love with the Earth King, and together we’re going to take over the world. You don’t know how hard it was to get that damn bear out of the bedroom.”

Katara laughed, eventually coming down to throw a downcast smile in Zuko’s direction.

“Okay, Zuko, you don’t have to tell us. Or anyone. But, does it… does it hurt?”

Zuko nodded, eyes downcast. 

“Zuko, I can’t say I know what that feels like, but I… gosh I’m both furious at this person for making you feel like this, and curious why you think that hurting yourself is better than being honest?”

“You think I’m hurting myself?”

“You know you are, Zuko. Well, I guess I do know a bit how this feels. I promise, really promise, that telling someone the truth, your truth, and having the chance to know, really know, how they feel… well that feels better than not knowing. It’s the scariest thing you’ll ever do, but it hurts less, or perhaps hurts faster, than what you’re doing now.”

“Katara I… I know that they don’t feel the same way about me.”

“Oh, you know? Are they with someone else? Have they told you they don’t have any feelings for you?”

“No, not that. I… I don’t think this person likes… men. Or at least I have no reason to think he does. And I don’t have any reason to think that he sees me as more than a friend.” 

Katara raised her eyebrow again. Zuko internally kicked himself, realizing that he’d let it slip that this wasn’t just someone they knew, but it was a friend. 

“Well I won’t push you in any direction, but I meant what I said. You don’t know, until you know. I think not knowing… well, it has taken a toll on you. And it always will. When you feel something like that, so strongly, it doesn’t often go away, and it never goes away quietly. But I know you’re scared. But you should know that you have people in your corner, people who can help you overcome that, who want you to be happy.” 

Zuko laid back, pinching his eyes shut. She wouldn’t be so sure about that, if she knew the truth. 

“Thank you, Katara. That… really means a lot to me. I’m sorry I’m being so difficult about this.”

“Of course, Zuko. Have you… have you talked to Sokka about this at all? Well on the one hand I wouldn’t, because I think you’d have to hold him back from boomeranging whoever is hurting you like this, even if they don’t mean to be. But on the other hand, I think you should. He still won’t talk to me about it, which drives me insane, but I know he’s been in a similar situation for a long time. I think it could be good for both of you to… talk it out. He cares about you so much, Zuko, I don’t think you have any idea.” 

More pinching eyes. 

“No, I haven’t. I actually didn’t know about that until last night, he told me a little about it. Do you… do you have any idea who it is?”

Zuko braced for the impending hurt. He was ready for it. He had to know.

“No, not a clue. I think it’s someone in the Fire Nation, though. Whenever he comes home, he’s always just a little down, a little quieter. And don’t let him fool you, there are plenty of people back home who want to date Sokka the Water Tribe war hero. He’s not interested in any of them. Never given them a second look. And then, right before he’s about to go back to the Fire Nation, he perks up a bit, gets a little bubblier. Just a theory, though.”

Zuko saw an opportunity to deflect, and gladly took it. “Well, he probably isn’t telling me because, as Fire Lord, I could do awful things to whoever hurts by dear Ambassador, if they are indeed one of my subjects. Even if they don’t mean to.” 

Katara shoved him, smiling. 

“Yes, I’m sure he’s just worried that he’ll have to mount another rescue from the Boiling Rock, and this time he won’t have you watching his back.”

“Yeah he’d be caught in a second. He doesn’t really have a Fire Nation vibe.”

They laughed for another moment, and Katara suggested they go for a swim. Zuko agreed, but on the condition that Katara helps make some big waves. He loved being in the rough, feeling the ocean moving all around him. It took his mind off his new project – narrowing down who Sokka’s person is from the entire population of the Fire Nation.

\----------

Sunset came and went, and there was no sign of Aang and Sokka. Katara, Toph, and Zuko ate a quiet dinner together, the two women dancing around the topic because of the anxious vibe Zuko was giving off. He was being really silent, barely eating, kind of staring off into the middle distance.

“Zuko, you know they’re fine, right?”

Zuko feigned ignorance. “Huh? Who?”

“Come on, I can tell you’re worried about Aang and Sokka. But relax. They stayed out a little longer than expected, but my brother is an accomplished, if unconventional sailor, and he’s with the Avatar. There’s not much that can take them down out there, even on a bad day.”

Zuko knew she was right, but was also incredibly frustrated with her. Yes, Zuko thought, I may be acting a little dramatic. Yes, I’m trying to hide it because I don’t want my concern to seem undue or excessive. But shouldn’t she also be worried? It’s her brother and boyfriend out there? She should be as out of her mind as Zuko was! Zuko could rationalize what Katara was saying, yes, but he could not shake an overwhelming fear. If something happened to Sokka and he wasn’t there to protect him… if something happened and Zuko never got to tell him how he felt (not that he had any intention of doing that, but still). All of this amounted to Zuko transforming into a cool statue, confused and upset but trying to keep it together. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, I’m just not very hungry. I think I just need to… go lay down or something.” 

A clear, unambiguous lie, given away by the fact that Zuko walked right out the front door going towards the beach, in the opposite direction of his bedroom. When he got down to the water, he sat down, again pulling his knees to his chest. He rested his chin between his knees and stared out at the water. Any minute now, he’d see their boat. And everything will be fine. Well, as fine as possible. If anything, Zuko thought, this reaffirms his commitment to keeping his secret. Losing Sokka, in whatever way, was just too painful to think about. Katara was wrong. 

\--------------

Hours passed before Zuko caught sight of a small boat flying through the water towards the shore. He knew instantly that it was them – it was clearly being propelled by waterbending or airbending, speeding as it was against the wind. He was able to, for the first time since coming down to the beach, unclench his hands, take a deep breath. And then panic. He needed to get back to the house, quick. He couldn’t risk Sokka seeing him down there, realizing how worried Zuko was, connecting certain dots he would prefer to remain separate. 

No such luck, however. The boat was speeding in, dangerously, he should add, and by the time he took a few steps he heard Sokka calling to him from the boat as Aang pushed it up on the beach. 

“Zuko! What are you doing down here? We thought you all would be in bed by now. Or that you and Toph were having some drinking contest my sister was thoughtfully refereeing.” 

“Umm, no I just… I was just, you know, taking in the moonlight.”

Sokka, satisfied with his answer, walked over to him and sat on the beach, splaying himself out. Aang went on ahead back to the house. Zuko went over to Sokka and sat down next to him. 

“I’m exhausted. Sailing is really fun, but soooo much work. You’d think I’d have been able to take the backseat while the all-powerful Avatar did the heavy lifting but noooooo, he wanted an authentic Water Tribe experience. And he did not care one bit that I was catastrophically hungover. How are you? What did you do today?”

Zuko wasn’t really listening. He was just staring at Sokka. Absently, he had arranged himself back into his anxious seated fetal position.

“Zuko, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Umm yeah I’m fine I just—”

“Zuko you look like you’ve been crying. Did something happen? Who do I have to boomerang?”

“No no no I’m fine I just… I don’t know. Ember Island is an emotional place, you know? When I have alone time here, sometimes it gets overwhelming, but in a good way?”

A good deflection. Sokka seemed to have bought it. 

“Are you sure it’s in a good way? You know I can’t stand to see you upset…”

Oh, you could, thought Zuko. You wouldn’t like it, but there’s nothing you could do to make me feel better, if you knew what I was really feeling, if you didn’t…

“Yes, Sokka. I’m fine. Let’s go back to the house.”

Zuko stood up and offered his hand to Sokka, helping his weak, sandy self up off the beach. They walked back, Sokka animatedly telling Zuko about all the cool fish they saw and the crazy waves Aang made. Zuko smiled and nodded, happy to see his friend happy. When they got back to the house, Sokka went to hang out with the rest of the gang, and Zuko excused himself to go to bed. He was also exhausted.

\---------

Again, close to the edge of sleep, Zuko was roused by someone jumping on his bed and giving him a playful shove. 

"Hey, flame meister, wake up. I’m mad at you.”

Zuko shot up. “What? What did I do?”

“You lied to me!”

“I did not! What about!”

“Katara told me everything. She said you’ve been a nervous wreck all night. She said you were worried about us coming back so late… why didn’t you just tell me?”

Zuko was too tired to put up a real front.

“I… I didn’t want you to worry about me worrying! And Katara is overreacting, I was fine.”

“She said you’ve been down on the beach for hours, staring out into the water.”

“Okay fine! I was really worried. Could you imagine the blowback I’d get if the Avatar mysteriously died under my watch? And the headache of finding a new Ambassador? My worry was entirely self-centered.”

Sokka shoved him again. 

“I don’t believe you for a second! You know, Zuko, it’s OK to be worried for your friends sometimes. I… I worry about you all the time.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because you… you’re my best friend. And yeah, you’re fine most of the time, handling all the Fire Lordy crap, but when you think no one is looking… I told you before, I know how unhappy you can get. I wish I could take that away from you.”

You could.

“Okay, Sokka, I’ll be honest. I was really worried something happened to you out there. I… I couldn’t control it, no matter how many times Katara told me it would be fine.”

“See! That wasn’t so hard. Thank you for being worried about me.”

Zuko decided to turn the tables a bit. He was getting in both an honest and provocative mood.

“And you’re right, Sokka. There are lots of times when I’m not happy. Being Fire Lord is hard, sure, but I’ve gotten the hang of it now. I can just get… lonely sometimes. Even after all this time, I’m still not quite used to having friends. I know I can share parts of my life with you all, but sometimes I just want something… more.”

“With your mystery person?”

Zuko nodded. “And I know you do too. Katara told me about when you go back home. She says you shut down a bit, get quiet. If I’d known, Sokka, I would have asked you about it,” and steeled himself for this last part. “You can always talk to me about it, you know.”

Sokka smiled at him, laying down now and propping his head against his hand. 

“Yeah okay, I guess I haven’t been honest with you either. Being away from the Fire Nation is… hard. There’s someone… lots of someones I care about there. Who make me feel most like myself. Going home is great, and I can reconnect with my people there, but, I don’t know, something isn’t the same.”

He lowered his head to the pillow now, hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. Zuko mimicked his pose. 

“After all these years in the Fire Nation, I think I just… I just can’t be without him.”

Zuko couldn’t breathe. The sound of shattering glass echoed in his ears. He wanted to formulate some response, but his lips refused to move.

“Anyways, I don’t want to talk about this now. I just wanted to give you a hard time about before. Stop lying to me, okay?”

“Only if you stop lying to me.”

Sokka turned his head to look at Zuko. He did the same, catching Sokka’s eyes. 

“Okay, deal. Honesty is on the menu. But tomorrow. I’m about to pass out.” 

Sokka got up to get changed. In an instant, he was back, this time in the bed with Zuko. He was on his side, still looking him. Zuko looked back, again catching his eyes for a moment before closing his eyes and rolling on his side to face Sokka. He could feel Sokka’s breath on him. 

Over the course of a few minutes. Sokka turned Zuko’s world upside down. He said “him.” He was sure of it. Or maybe he made it up, his desire causing him to hallucinate for a moment. No, he was pretty sure Sokka said him. He felt like he was going to sleep floating on top of the bed. It would hurt in the morning, but he allowed himself the pleasure of imagining that Sokka was talking about him. A risk, for sure, as these fantasies typically skipped over the confessions of love and got right down to Sokka fucking him into next week, whispering filthy things into his ears, kissing his neck. He felt himself getting hard, but figured there was nothing he could do about it. It was going to happen anyways. 

Before he was able to drift off to sleep, Sokka did that thing again, putting one foot over his, joining them at the ankle. 

\-----------

“SUNS UP YOU’RE UP COME ON!!!!” Sokka shouted, basically right into Zuko’s sleeping face. Zuko’s eyes flew open to find Sokka straddling him, sitting against his thighs with his hands shaking his shoulders. Sokka continued to shake, scooting up a bit until be found himself crotch-to-crotch with Zuko’s erection. Zuko thought he could see his spirit leave his body. Sokka, a moment after pausing, making unmistakable contact, scooted back and resumed shaking, bringing his face closer to Zuko’s, whispering in his ear.

“Super fun Sokka Zuko day it’s a surprise and you can’t say no so get dressed and grab a bathing suit and meet me downstairs in five minutes. There’s already food.”

Zuko smiled, looking back up at Sokka, still on top of him. Very likely, he’d never been harder in his life. It took every bit of willpower to not buck his hips up into Sokka. Even lower down on his body, with Sokka leaning in like this, his abs were still just inches from his cock. He bit his lip and nodded, gesturing for Sokka to get off him. This was getting untenable. He needed to jerk off, soon. 

“Fine fine let me get ready and I’ll come down… You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going? I thought today was Honesty Day?”

Sokka smiled at him, now having rolled over onto the bed next to Zuko. 

“Yeah yeah that starts once we get there. And in the future, we have to have a rule about surprises. They’re allowed. Now stop stalling.”

Sokka jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. Zuko waited a moment for his erection to wane before going after him, grabbing whatever he could find on the way. He didn’t much care what they did, really, he was just excited to spend the day with Sokka. Well, excited and nervous. He made a note to drop the whole “honesty day” thing and, hopefully, Sokka would forget about it.

He got downstairs to find Sokka alone, waiting for him, Everyone else, apparently was still asleep. Sokka threw some food at Zuko and told him to eat on the road. 

“Road?”

“Okay, well, sky. Aang said we could borrow Appa for the day. No, you still can’t ask.”

Sokka was running out the door, bags under each arm, and Zuko chased after him. Before too long, they were in the air, flying west. 

“Are you going to blindfold me or something? I know pretty much all of this island.”

“No one said anything about staying on this island!”

“So where are we going?”

“Yoooooouuu’ll seeeeeee. Now eat your breakfast. You know, you were so cute when you were sleeping this morning. I almost didn’t want to wake you up. What were you dreaming about? Remember, honesty day!!!” 

\----------

After an hour or two of flying, Sokka did actually insist that Zuko put a blindfold on. Ridiculous, but Zuko thought it was unbearably adorable. Sokka was so excited to show him what he’d found. Before they landed, however, Sokka got behind Zuko, pointed his head wherever he wanted him to look, and removed the blindfold so Zuko could see it from the air. 

It was a small island, completely deserted by the looks of it. It had a characteristic Fire Nation crescent-moon shape, the tips almost completely enclosing a sizeable bay. Along the coast, Zuko could see that the sand was completely black. 

“Isn’t this so cool!!! Some old guy on the beach told me about it ages ago, and I’ve been saving it for something special, like a secret Sokka Zuko getaway. The black sand beach is great and all, but you’re going to lose it at night. The bay has something weird in it that makes the water glow blue when you move! I’ve never heard of anything like it, I can’t wait to throw you in it later! What do you think??”

Zuko felt like crying. He just wanted to grab Sokka by the face and kiss him. Without realizing it, he actually did start crying a bit. 

“Woah, Zuko are you okay? That’s not the reaction I was expecting!”

“Yeah Sokka, I’m fine,” he said, wiping at his face.

“Honesty Day.”

“Ugh, fine. It’s just… I still get thrown off a bit when people do things like this for me. Nobody… no one’s ever saved something special to share with me. Well not since my mom left. I know it’s probably totally normal for you, you and all our friends doing things like this for each other. I don’t think you… realize how much something like this means to me. I’m just… really grateful.” 

Sokka looked away, out towards the horizon.

“Honesty Day.”

Sokka looked back, and he was clearly tearing up. He still smiled a bit, though. 

“Zuko, I… you deserve so much more than what you’ve been given. I sometimes forget that, too. And it makes me so sad to think about all you’ve missed out on. I’m sorry if this was overwhelming, I just… I just really want you to know how special you are to me, okay?”

Sokka reached over and took Zuko’s hand. If asked, by the rules of Honesty Day, he’d have to tell Sokka that he didn’t know how special he was to him, not quite in so many words. And he’d have to say that Sokka definitely, for certain, did not know how special he was to Zuko. But perhaps that was the magic of Honesty Day.

Sokka met his eyes for a moment, before looking away and, giving his hand a little squeeze, began to gush some more about cool things on the island, including the abandoned cabin they were going to spend the night in. 

“Sorry, I thought about it, but decided it was impractical to bring the spooky mattress. We’re going to be roughing it tonight, okay? And yes, we’re spending the night no matter what you say. The bay is too cool to not spend all night in. And this way we can spend all of Honesty Day without Toph’s nosy feet butting in all the time.”

Zuko nodded. He was trying his best to hold it in, but he was still crying a bit. So was Sokka. Honesty Day was going to kill him.

\-----------

They found the cabin pretty quickly – it was right on the beach, right in the middle of the island’s crescent. It was a little run down, but it’ll do for the night. Inside there was just one bed, barely big enough for two, that took up basically the entire space. The wall facing the ocean was just a thin, tight net, seemingly to keep bugs and other crawlies out while allowing a good view of the water. 

Sokka threw everything on the bed and raced out towards the black sand, calling for Zuko to chase after him. Zuko realized he wasn’t wearing anything he could swim in, and quickly changed, hoping Sokka didn’t turn around at the wrong moment. By the time he got down to the beach Sokka was a few meters out in the bay, floating on his back. Zuko got in the incredibly warm water as quietly as possible, diving under the surface to swim under Sokka, grab him by the waist, and drag him down under the water. Sokka yelped and flailed around a moment before getting his bearings, quickly getting on Zuko’s tail as he swam away as fast as possible. They continued like this for a while, Sokka throwing out rules to games he invented on the spot, Zuko playing along. This was Sokka at his most rarefied, uninhibited, honest. 

After they got a little waterlogged, Sokka suggested they go for a hike up to the top of the small mountain on the island. Probably a dormant volcano, Zuko thought, judging from the black sand. Zuko told Sokka it might be dangerous, this whole island might be, but that only made Sokka more excited. They both threw on shirts and shoes and made their way up to the top of the mountain. 

The hike was more arduous than either of them had expected. It looked innocent enough from the ground, but the mountain was steep, and it only got rockier. Zuko wished, in just this one moment, that they’d brought Toph. Or water. Or Appa. They took frequent breaks, complaining about their poor judgement, but neither man was ready to turn around. Well, Zuko probably would have, but Sokka remained steadfastly committed to summiting this annoying volcano, and so up they went. Zuko had never heard such enthusiastic complaining in his life, a continuous stream of curses delivered with a smile and a bounce. 

After about two hours of hiking, they finally reached the top. Sokka stared out at the view, gesturing wildly, pointing out at the horizon as if Zuko couldn’t see it himself. Zuko thought it was definitely worth the effort. They could see the entire crescent of the small island, its two points coming together to hug the crystalline water of the bay. On the horizon, they could see nothing but ocean. Zuko loved that particular part of their vista. They were completely alone, a literal island unto themselves. Zuko wanted them to stay here forever.

“You know, I wish we could just stay here forever.”

Huh? Did he just say that? Or was it Sokka? It was Sokka. He continued.

“Like, it’s just so beautiful here. And there’s nothing… nothing else butting into our lives. No rebuilding, no nations, no endless meetings or politics or stuffy protocol. We’re just… here. Just us.” 

“You wouldn’t want anyone else here with us?”

Sokka smiled at him, eyes downcast. “Well, certain people can come visit, I guess.”

“And you wouldn’t get sick of me?”

Sokka shook his head. “No. Would you get sick of me?”

“Well I think that depends on whether or not we upgraded our living situation a bit. I haven’t had the chance to try it out, but I know we’d both be happier here if we at least made at attempt at relocating our beloved haunted mattress.”

That made Sokka laugh, harder than it should have. Sokka sat down, looking out over the ocean, and Zuko sat down next to him.

“I’m not kidding, Zuko. I really do wish that. Honesty Day and all. Oh! I almost forgot. I have another Honesty Day present.”

Sokka reached into the small bag he had slung across his back. He pulled out a small bundle of maroon fabric and handed it to Zuko. Inside, Zuko found his stolen crown. His ancestors are spinning in their graves, the young Fire Lord had completely forgotten that Sokka had snatched it. 

“My present is my own crown, that you stole?”

Sokka nodded, sighing. 

“Yes. Well the present is more that I, in the end, did not actually steal a priceless artifact of the Fire Nation royalty.”

“So, you were planning on stealing it? What, have dreams of ascending to my throne?”

“No, no. Well it started out as a joke, just to get you out of grumpy leader mode and into party beach mode. I was going to turn back around and put it on your nightstand, like you always do. But then I didn’t. I don’t know, I got mad at it? Like, I’d always worried about this, but then I was holding it, and the feeling just got more intense… this feeling that this little piece of metal was what was making you so unhappy.”

“Sokka, I actually love being Fire Lord. It’s stressful and complicated and tedious at times, but I’m proud to lead my people, to take us into a new future. The crown actually makes me very happy. But, like I said last night, it can be really lonely sometimes. So, it might look like it’s the crown that’s weighing me down, but really its more the fact that I don’t have someone to share that with… you know, beyond my friends.” 

“Do you think the crown is keeping you back from being with your secret person?”

“Honesty Day?”

“Honesty Day.”

“No, not at all. Perhaps it distracts me a bit. Maybe my position makes the situation a little more fraught. I worry that if I pursue this person, it might upset the balance I’ve created. But no, what’s keeping me back is a pretty certain conviction that this person doesn’t feel the same about me. Well, Honesty Day, I actually am starting to wonder if that certainty is justified.”

And this was true. Since Sokka’s confession the night before, if Zuko is to accept that it really happened, the events of that day had taken on a new guise. Sokka was being quite forthright in conveying to Zuko that he was a special, important person in his life, that he’d want to stay on this island alone, with him. Normally, Zuko would banish these thoughts as unnecessary fodder for his more indulgent and painful fantasies, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I don’t know, I just wish I knew for sure how they felt about me…”

“Have they been silent on the topic?”

“Actually, no. They tell me how they feel all the time. I know that I’m a special person to them. I know that they… care about me. But that’s different from how I feel about them. I’m afraid that… no matter what they say about how they feel about me, well I don’t want to open up and get… hurt. I don’t want to upset things.”

“How do you feel about them?”

“Honesty Day?”

“Of course. No exceptions.”

“They’re not a special person to me. They’re the special person. Sometimes, if I look at them too much, or spend too much time around them, I get overwhelmed. My heart stops and stomach flips, all those dumb clichés. I’d do anything for them. I’d never put this crown back on, if they asked me to. I’d… I’d stay here on this island with them, if they asked me to.” 

Zuko immediately regretted the last part. Honesty Day was getting dangerous. He was perilously close to fulfilling the day’s promise, something he had absolutely no intention (well, maybe just a smidge if intention) of doing. He was giving too much away, letting too much out.

Sokka didn’t respond for a minute, until he reached over and placed his hand on top of Zuko’s. 

“You should… you should tell them that. If you feel that kind of connection with them… I don’t know, I would say it’s likely there’s more going on than you realize. Maybe this person is around you all the time on purpose. Maybe they like it when you look at them too long. Maybe they’ve already told you that you’re precious to them, but you didn’t hear it right.”

“I… I think I might, Sokka. It seemed like an impossibility just yesterday but, I don’t know, you’ve changed my mind a bit. And you know how hard that is.”

Sokka still wasn’t looking at him directly, eyes still downcast, but Zuko could catch a slight smile. 

“Sokka, are you upset?”

“No, no. I think I’m just coming to the same realization as you. It’s not painful but it is a bit… what did you call it? Yeah, overwhelming. I might have just talked myself into being honest with my person.”

“Are you afraid?”

“Yeah. Terrified. But I’m… almost ready to not be. I…”

Zuko couldn’t breathe.

“… I think I really like Honesty Day.” 

\--------

They sat together on top of the mountain for a little while longer, not talking much more, but enjoying each other’s silent company. Sokka didn’t take his hand off Zuko’s, until he stood up, grabbing Zuko’s hand and dragging him up with him. Sokka wanted to make it down to the cabin before it got too late, he didn’t want to have to make dinner in the dark.

“Well, Sokka, I don’t think starting a fire is going to be a huge issue…”

“Right. Well, I want to get back down anyways. I don’t want to miss a second of dark-glowy-bay time.”

The return journey was much easier, of course, for the exception of Zuko losing his footing once or twice. Sokka always caught him. By now, they were both horrifically sweaty and dehydrated. They’d found a little stream on the way down and got a little bit of energy back, but they were both looking forward to falling down on the sand and crawling over to their supplies. 

As promised, when they got back to the beach, Zuko put together a small fire. Sokka had brought some food along with him, though it seemed to be a haphazard selection. Mostly desserts and jerky, something that should not have surprised Zuko. The fire was certainly not for cooking. 

As they ate, they joked around about Aang and Katara and how gross and weird their relationship was. Zuko thought it was sweet, but Sokka still couldn’t wrap his head around it, even after five years. Then the conversation turned to Fire Nation stuff, Sokka launching into a tirade about his corresponding Fire Nation Ambassador. 

“Sokka, do you not like your job?”

“No no, I love my job. Despite all its stuffy heat and stuffy people, I really like being in the Fire Nation. A shock to my childhood self, for sure. But you know me. I’m just lazy, and people who take themselves too seriously drive me nuts.”

“But don’t you think I take myself too seriously? You’re always making fun of me about it.”

“Well, you’re different. You’re my friend. And you’re the Fire Lord, serious-ness comes with the job. And you… well you don’t take yourself as seriously as I say you do.”

“I don’t?”

“No, not at all. Do you not know how funny you are sometimes? Maybe you don’t mean to be. But all your little sarcastic quips and grumbles are hysterical, they tell me that, deep down, you’re laughing as much as I am, you’re just showing it differently.”

“Well, maybe that’s true when I’m around my friends.”

“What, you’re not secretly cracking up when Minister Ito starts pulling on that ridiculous grey beard? Like he’s some kind of wizard?”

Zuko laughed. “Okay, yeah you’re right.” 

“Of course I am. I am a very perceptive judge of character, and I see right through you, your dour flameyness.”

Zuko didn’t hide his blush anymore. Honesty Day. He was on the verge, just one little step before the edge, of thinking that Sokka is right, of accepting that Sokka actually knows full well how he feels about him, and might feel the same. But he needed one more push. He was blushing a bit on the outside, but on the inside, he was vibrating, an excited anticipation he’d never felt before, the nervous joy of being on the precipice of having your dreams realized. His uncompromising self reminded him that he’d pay a heavy price, and soon, for the many breaches of his disinterested façade. But he didn’t care anymore. He was willing to pay, if it meant having a chance to be with him. Katara was right, after all.

\----------

The moment the sun ducked beneath the horizon, and an inky blue darkness descended, Sokka was dragging Zuko back down to the shore. With the black sand, it felt like the two of them were lost in space, walking towards some unseen point. It would almost be spooky, if he wasn’t being led there by the hand. 

Sokka, just ahead of him, tested the water with one foot. He gasped as the water around his foot slowly grew into a glowing blue. He sloshed around a bit, and all the water he disturbed shone bright, a jagged blue patch now floating in space with the. 

After a moment of testing, Sokka ran ahead full speed, causing a glowing trail to bubble up in his wake. He called out to Zuko to hurry up and catch him before diving under the water, conjuring a glowing blue orb out of nothing but water. 

Zuko followed, a little hesitantly. This was cool and all, but was it safe? What was in this water? Sokka shouldn’t be drinking it, if he’s under there. And so on. After a few steps though, he became enamored with his new watery aura, comfortably wading in up to his waist. Blue wasn’t necessarily his color, but he was transfixed by the strange beauty of it all. Or at least, he thought he was transfixed, until he looked up and his mouth dropped, breath stopped.

Sokka stood directly in front of him, a few feet deeper in. Zuko thought he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Beyond compare. Sokka was surrounded on all sides by this bright blue, which flickered and undulated with the waves, casting a shifting blue light which reflected off of Sokka’s wet muscles. He danced his fingers across the surface, causing little streaks of blue to swirl around him. He looked like a water spirit; a siren made to trap Zuko in the guise of his beloved. Zuko made eye contact, and saw the blue was sparking in his already-blue eyes, almost giving them a piercing glow, a look that saw right into Zuko. Sokka began to back away slowly, a smirk on his face, as the gestured for Zuko to come in deeper. 

By this point, Zuko’s constraining will, previously an unstoppable force, collided with an immovable object. He could not control his body, even if he wanted to. The brilliance of the beautiful boy before him, Sokka’s slight, inviting smile, his eyes… with one look his fear evaporated. He took a big, quick step towards Sokka, pushing himself right up against him, as he grabbed his face and pulled him into a strong, desperate kiss. Zuko could feel Sokka’s lips move into a momentary smile before he met Zuko’s strength, his desperation, opening his mouth to invite Zuko in. As they kissed, for the first time in years, Zuko felt a weight lift off his shoulders, unsure if it was actual relief or his sleeping spirit being roused from what was certainly a singularly brilliant dream. As he felt Sokka’s warmth press into him, his tongue lick into his mouth, and his hands grab strongly onto his ass, he accepted that this was no dream. He pulled away for a moment.

“Really, Sokka? You’re going right for my ass?”

“Zuko, I’ve been waiting to touch you like this for years. Your ass has literally kept me awake at night. Wait, that’s the first thing you’re going to say after doing that?”

“Do I need to say anything else? I love you, Sokka. I’ve loved you since the Boiling Rock. I’ve loved you every minute since. And I never… never imagined that we could… we could be here, like this.”

“We’re fucking idiots. Well, I guess I was a little behind you there. I’ve been in love with you since your coronation. You probably don’t remember, but you gave me a look that day, I think I was the first person you looked at after they put your crown on. You smiled at me, and I realized… I realized that I was fucking crazy for you. I almost ran up and kissed you right then, in front of the whole world.” 

“So, all this time… all this time you’ve been in the Fire Nation, you’ve been in love with me?”

Sokka nodded.

“And you never said anything?” 

“Hey, that’s a little pot-kettle, don’t you think?”

“No, I know I just, I never would have guessed. You always made me feel so special but, I don’t know, I thought it was just you, that you made everyone in your life feel special. Spirits, Sokka, I didn’t even know you liked men. ” 

“At least I was a little more revealing in my affections than you! You were so good at hiding it, Zuko, but I knew, I fucking knew, that we’d be here one day. And once you let it out that there was someone special in your life, well, I don’t know, I guess it could have been anyone, but I knew it was me. I knew that I could be honest with you, or at least try and be more honest, if not completely. I could test the waters with you until we got to Honesty Day. I was planning on kissing you once you caught up with me… You were never a special person to me, Zuko. You were the special person. And I guess I do like men, but I haven’t thought much outside of one man in particular.”

Zuko pressed back into him, catching his mouth again, pulling Sokka into him so close and so hard he thought they might just merge. Sokka did the same, letting out a soft moan as he pushed their crotches together, each man getting hard quick. Zuko couldn’t help but let out something a little more than soft. Sokka’s hands were on his ass, squeezing him, pulling him in. His heart was racing. He’d imagined this so many times, in his private moments, Sokka’s name silently on his lips.

“Sokka as much as I love the blue glowing shit, I need you to take me back to the cabin right now, and I need you to fuck me until neither of us remember why we didn’t tell each other sooner, okay?”

Zuko barely finished speaking before Sokka grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him out of the water. Halfway up the beach, he turned around, pulled in Zuko for one more kiss, and shouted into the night sky.

“I fucking love this man!”

Now Zuko was ahead of him, dragging Sokka along. 

\--------

They crashed into the cabin, not slowing down once they crossed the threshold. Zuko, still in the lead, spun around to catch Sokka’s mouth. Zuko let out a plaintive moan as his hands drifted up, tracing Sokka’s abs, eventually resting his hands on the firm, flat planes of Sokka’s pecs. Sokka’s hands went back to their favorite spot, gripping Zuko’s ass. Sokka pulled away to whisper in Zuko’s ear while Zuko began attacking Sokka’s neck.

“You have the most gorgeous ass in the fucking world, Zuko. You always have. So round, the perfect balance of muscle. I imagined it would be soft like this, fuck I can’t believe I’m actually touching you. Do you know how many times I’ve…”

Zuko bit down on Sokka’s earlobe, his hands moving to Sokka’s back, pulling them closer together.

“Do you know how many times I’ve jerked off thinking just about your ass? Spirits I would get hard every time you wore something even slightly tighter than your robes. I’ve always just wanted to, fuck, just pull your shorts down and eat you out. Zuko you made me cum so hard.”

Zuko, panting by this point, managed to get out, “Well… what are you… waiting for?”

He could feel Sokka smiling, right before he grabbed Zuko by the shoulders and turned him around. For a second, Sokka pressed his hard cock, still impossibly clothed, against Zuko’s ass, taking an extra moment to run his hands up and down Zuko’s chest, ghosting over the waistband of Zuko’s shorts and giving his right nipple a little squeeze. When he was done exploring, he pushed Zuko down on the bed, face down, and climbed on top of him, grinding his cock into Zuko again. 

“Fuck your body is incredible. Did you picture it too, Zuko? You must have… though about what it would be like, made yourself cum thinking about my cock in your ass.” Now Sokka was biting at the back of Zuko’s neck, pressing his body harder down into him.

“Fuck, yes, Sokka, you’re all I’ve thought about… Even with… with other people.”

“Tell me what you pictured. Was it just like this?”

Zuko could not possibly speak. He nodded hard. 

“What did I do next?”

“Fuck, Sokka… you… you pulled me up to my knees, and got down behind me so my ass was in your face. Then you… you kissed down my back as you pulled my shorts down, slowly, moving your mouth down until you…”

And Sokka did just that. He grabbed Zuko by the hips, his face still down on the bed but his ass in the air. Sokka took a moment to sit up on his knees and grind himself into Zuko again, savoring the last moment before they were exposed to each other. 

“Zuko, can I take these off?”

He nodded again, this time biting down on his knuckle. He let out a loud moan with the first of Sokka’s kisses, about hallway down his spine, as he felt Sokka’s fingertips dip below his waistband, slowly seeking out new skin. But he couldn’t keep up the slow pace for long. With a final pull, Sokka exposed Zuko’s ass. 

“Shit, Zuko, you should see yourself like this. You’re so much more beautiful than I imagined. I can’t believe you’re going to let me… that you want me to do this.”

“Please, Sokka… I need you to… I need you to touch me.”

Sokka put a palm on each of Zuko’s cheeks and spread them, giving them a gentle squeeze as he did. Zuko was no long stifling his moans with his knuckle. He’s barely been touched. Sokka brought his face down to Zuko’s ass, gently rubbing his nose against one of his cheeks while he used his tongue to ghost around Zuko’s hole. 

“That’s not fucking funny, Sokka.”

Sokka smiled, rubbing his nose in harder, taking a moment to bite down on Zuko’s ass, a little harder than he probably meant to. Zuko yelped, pushing his hips back into Sokka’s face. 

“Yes, fuck, Sokka, I hope that leaves a mark. I’m gonna fucking kill you if you don’t…”

He wasn’t able to finish the sentence before a deep moan escaped his lips, an unconscious, uncontrollable reaction to Sokka licking a first stripe across his hole. Sokka swirled his tongue there for a moment, letting Zuko turn to jelly below him, before pushing in his tongue a little deeper. Zuko had balled the bed’s sheets into his fists, and was practically sobbing into the bed as he pushed his hips back harder against Sokka, fucking himself on Sokka’s tongue. 

He thought he had reached the apex of overwhelming until Sokka, still buried in his ass, brought one hand around Zuko to grab his leaking cock. Zuko yelped at the contact, a shock he was immensely grateful for, choking through another moan as Sokka’s thumb rubbed Zuko’s slick foreskin around his head. 

Zuko well and truly felt like he was constantly on the edge of orgasm the entire time Sokka was rimming him. He could bust at any moment, and even though he wanted to save it, he knew that it was something entirely beyond his control. He was getting close, so close, when Sokka pulled away for a second, biting into Zuko’s ass again and slapping the other cheek. 

“Zuko, I have another idea. I need you to… fuck will you sit on my face?”

Zuko nodded, teeth gritting from the sudden interruption of his pleasure, but his skin still felt as if it were on fire, every part Sokka touched sparking and leaving him buzzing. 

Sokka laid down on the bed and gestured for Zuko to assume the position, which he gladly, quickly did, stopping only for a moment to remove his shorts from his ankles. Without conveying anything, Zuko knew that Sokka wanted Zuko to be a little rough with him. And, after all, if he had been fantasizing about his ass so, he wouldn’t mind Zuko continuing to fuck down on his broad, warm tongue. Zuko continued to ride Sokka’s face, with Sokka’s hand now slowly pumping his cock. It only took him a minute to see that Sokka was still wearing his shorts. Well, barely. They looked like they were about to rip at the seam, barely containing Sokka’s erection. 

“Sokka, please, I want to… see you. Can I take these off?”

Sokka nodded into Zuko’s ass, not missing a beat. 

Zuko basically fell forward, until his face was inches away from Sokka’s cock. He took a moment to breathe him in. Salt and ocean, a touch of sweat. Zuko pulled himself back just enough to lick down Sokka’s abs, planting a kiss at the edge of his waistband. Sokka shuddered below him, his cock pulsing once. Zuko was going to take his time with this, starting by slowly ghosting over Sokka’s cock with this hand, and then his mouth. Grabbing it by the base, Zuko proceeded to mouth at Sokka’s clothed cock, hot enough to burn a hole through the fabric, hard enough to strain the seams. Sokka was moaning beneath him, practically begging for Zuko to take him out. Zuko wasn’t ready to be so obliging, taking a few more moments to savor the mystery of Sokka’s dick. This was really the final frontier for them. Their secrets, and their bodies, laid bare. Who knew Honesty Day was going to be a sex holiday. 

Zuko brought his hands to the sides of Sokka’s waist, fingertips slowly dipping below the offending fabric. He hooked his thumbs on the outside and started to slowly pull it down, stopping for a moment to lean down and bury his face in Sokka’s pubes, taking a big inhale before planting a single kiss at the base of Sokka’s dick. He continued to pull his shorts down, slowly revealing his lovers cock an inch at a time, until it was eventually freed, swinging back to smack Zuko in the face. Zuko wasted no time, grabbing on to Sokka’s shaft and slowly pulling his foreskin down before wrapping his lips around Sokka’s leaking head, causing him to stiffen his legs, curl his toes, and break away from rimming Zuko just long enough to let out a small roar. 

Sokka tasted incredible, both salty and sweet. He felt even better, his soft head gratefully receiving Zuko’s tongue as he swirled around it. Slowly, Zuko started to lower his mouth down, but was quickly realizing he was in for an uphill battle. As expected, Sokka’s cock was huge. Zuko thought he had a pretty good-sized dick, but Sokka easily dwarfed him. It wasn’t much longer than his own, but Sokka was thick – like, more than a handful, stretch you out for days, could barely get his mouth around it thick. Honestly, and he wasn’t just saying this, it was objectively the most beautiful dick he’d ever seen. Zuko might win in the ass department, but Sokka’s dick is something you write songs about. Zuko was determined to blow him, and blow him good, so he slowly warmed himself up to Sokka’s size, covering whatever he couldn’t get in his mouth yet with this hand, and then went to work, with Sokka squirming beneath him, gently fucking up into Zuko’s mouth. 

Sokka’s dick almost distracted him entirely from his lover’s continued attention to his hole. He could still feel the electric surge of each swipe of Sokka’s tongue, but it was amplified significantly when Sokka pulled away and replaced his tongue with a finger. 

“Zuko, you’re so tight,” he said, before biting once more into Zuko’s ass. “Like ridiculously tight. I need to open you up a lot more before we can do anything else, but I’m so fucking excited to get inside you. And you taste fucking amazing. I want to eat you out every day, okay? Just fucking, I don’t know, sit on my face whenever you think I’m bored, or talking too much, or, fuck, whenever you want to suck my dick like that. Spirits Zuko I’ve never had anyone take that much of me before… I’m gonna start with two fingers, okay?”

Zuko nodded, eyelids fluttering as he felt Sokka sink another finger into him, slowly scissoring him open. He needed a breath, so he got up from Sokka’s cock and rested his head on his hip, slowly stroking Sokka’s monster, watching his foreskin wrap over his head and come back down, drops of precum flowing down every so often. Zuko was thoroughly dickmatized, eyes fixated while he rocked his hips back into Sokka’s fingers, taking a sharp inhale every time he brushed against that spot.

“Sokka… you’re inside me right now. I was just… I was just sucking you off!” He started laughing, an insane-sounding, pleasure-riddled laugh.

“This is ridiculous. I could have… I could have had your cock in my mouth for years. Fuck, Agni your fingers feel amazing right now. You could have been… you could have been pounding me every night before we went to sleep, and I could have jerked you off every morning when we woke up. I’m so glad… fuck I’m so glad you came up with Honesty Day. Honesty Day forever. And honestly, what I’m feeling right now, fuck Sokka, I want to be with your forever. I want… I want you so badly… and I’m never going to stop wanting you.”

Sokka suddenly scooted himself up the bed, up through Zuko’s straddling legs, until he was able to get up on his knees behind him. Pressing his cock into the cleft of Zuko’s ass, he began biting at Zuko’s neck again while taking another hand to slowly pump Zuko’s cock. 

“Forever, Zuko?”

He nodded.

“Do you promise?”

He nodded again.

“Good, love. You have me. Nothing’s going to stop us now.”

Sokka took Zuko’s left hand by the wrist and raised it, putting his head under Zuko’s arm. He stopped for a moment to lick into Zuko’s now-sweaty pit. Zuko had never imagined what that could feel like, and shuddered at the sensation. He definitely wanted Sokka to do that again.

“Zuko, everything, everything about you is so fucking delicious. You smell so fucking good. Next time you train, I want you to come right to me and shove my face in your crotch. I want to lick every inch of you. Fuck your skin is so hot, is it always like this?”

As he said that, he slipped his fingers back into Zuko’s hole, continuing to stretch him out until he was able to add a third finger. Zuko almost laughed to himself as he brought one hand up behind Sokka’s head, pressing him harder into his neck. A third finger, what’s that going to do? There was no amount of stretching that was going to adequately prepare him for Sokka’s cock. He just was going to have to ride him every day. A new kind of training.

“Sokka… I’m ready. I can’t wait anymore. I’m on the edge as it is, but I need to cum with you inside me. I… I need you to cum inside me, okay?”

Sokka nodded into Zuko’s neck, slowly moving to Zuko’s side and lowering him down on the bed on his back. Zuko was happy he didn’t even have to say anything, that Sokka wanted to look at him while they had sex for the first time. Zuko spread his legs apart and lifted his knees as Sokka slid in between him. Somewhere in that, Sokka had grabbed a small bottle of oil from his bag next to the bed, and he was pouring some out into his hand.

“Sokka, did you come prepared for this?”

“I told you, I knew it was me… I just didn’t know if you were going to be ready to admit it, but I hoped for the best. You can never be too prepared.”

“Sokka, you only brought candy and jerky with us.”

“Right. Prepared. For all the important things. Is this really the conversation you want to be having before we do this?”

Zuko shook his head while Sokka lowered his to kiss Zuko’s neck again. While he did that, he took his oiled fingers spread it in and around Zuko’s hole before coating his dick. He pulled himself up on his knees, taking Zuko’s legs and propping them up on his shoulders. Looking down at him, he lined his cock up with Zuko’s hole, his head resting against Zuko’s entrance. 

“Are you ready?”

Zuko nodded. This was going to be a rough start, but Zuko had pictured this moment a million times. Every night as he went to sleep, he imagined the feeling of Sokka thrusting into him as he desperately fingered himself, spilling on his chest countless times. He brought his hands up to cup Sokka’s face. 

“I love you, Sokka.”

“I love you, too.”

With that, he began pushing in. Zuko stiffened at first, taken off guard for a moment by the burn of the stretch. Sokka waited for him to relax again before going further, slowly filling him up an inch at a time. At some point, Zuko just felt like he was entirely on fire. He couldn’t tell how much of Sokka was inside of him, he just knew that his lover’s cock was already hitting him in all the right places. And just when he thought he couldn’t take any more, he felt Sokka’s pubes brush against him, and Sokka sighed, content to be fully seated. 

“Do you need a minute to get used to it?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Wow, okay, roger that.”

Slowly, Sokka began to take himself out. The absence that grew drove Zuko a bit mad, and he felt himself gripping onto Sokka’s withdrawing cock, his body pleading with it to not leave. But then Sokka thrust himself back into Zuko, this time with power behind it, and Zuko saw stars. He was crying out behind a satisfied smile, eyes screwed shut as he felt Sokka begin to fuck him in earnest. When he could manage to open his eyes, he saw Sokka right above him, his lips ghosting above his, his sweat dripping down on him. Zuko lifted himself up to catch Sokka’s kiss. 

Sokka had him folded in half now, his knees almost by his head. He reached up to grab his calves, steading himself as Sokka continued to press into him with his mouth and pound into him with his cock. Zuko looked down to see Sokka’s tight abs flexing, the V of his hips prominent and glistening with sweat. And just below that, he could make out Sokka’s cock, pounding into him in a blur. Sokka brought himself up again, this time grabbing on to the outside of Zuko’s thighs, using his grip to pull Zuko down on his cock even harder. Zuko, by that point, was not at all aware of whatever was coming out of his mouth. He could barely hear Sokka’s own moans, his soft whispering praises. But every so often his senses would return, and he’d hear Sokka practically screaming about how tight he felt, about how deep he was in Zuko, how much he loved him, how much he wanted Zuko to fuck him just like this. Zuko was glad be caught that part, he was definitely looking forward to getting all up in Sokka’s tight, muscly ass. 

As he returned a bit to reality, Zuko could feel his aching cock, desperate for attention, leaking out onto his abs. He went to grab it, but Sokka beat him to it, using his oiled hand to pump Zuko’s cock in rhythm. 

“Sokka, don’t… fuuuuck… don’t do that unless your close, too. I can’t… I can’t hold it back anymore.”

Sokka tightened his grip, unable to verbalize to him how close he was. All Zuko got were successively deeper, louder moans, which me met in kind. Zuko felt like he was screaming, but he couldn’t keep it in. And then his moans quieted, becoming soft, choking sounds as he felt his body spasming, has a whiteness creeped in the sides of his vision, his nails digging into his calves, and a sudden wetness across his face. 

“Fuck, Zuko, you’re so beautiful when you cum… you’re covered in… I’ve never seen someone… that much…holy fuck I’m…”

Zuko felt Sokka thrust into him one last time, somehow going deeper than before. He felt Sokka’s cock pulse, shooting rope after rope deep into him. Zuko was just coming down from his high, but Sokka’s last movement was already making his cock stiffen again. As he was emptying into Zuko, Sokka came down hard to catch Zuko in a kiss, licking into him as his body shook and breath stalled. Sokka collapsed on top of him, and after a moment of heavy breathing, they both broke out laughing. 

“Sokka, that just really happened.” 

“We did it, love. Fuck… we finally did it. This is incredible. We just, fuck we just get to do this whenever we want.”

“Well, yeah, after I find a way to soundproof our room. Fuck, Sokka… your cock is… I can’t…”

Sokka laughed. “What, you didn’t get a feel for it when I was cuddling you the other day.”

Zuko’s mouth dropped. “Asshole! You did that on purpose!”

Sokka collapsed on top of Zuko again, kissing his neck.

Zuko got up on his elbows, as far as he could at least.

“Was it… good?”

Sokka started laughing again. “No, truly awful. I take it all back, I can only be with someone whose ass makes me forget my own name, and sorry, I still remember that I’m Bumi, King of Omashu.”

Zuko shoved him a little bit.

“Did you just say Bumi’s name while you’re still inside of me? Still hard and inside of me?” 

Sokka nodded, nuzzling into Zuko’s neck before coming up to lick some of Zuko’s cum off his face. Unsatisfied with a little, Sokka lifted himself up and began to run his fingers through Zuko’s pooled cum, covering his abs before raising his fingers to his mouth and licking them clean. He brought his hand back down to Zuko’s cock, pulling on it just enough to get Zuko hard again. 

“You’re right, Zuko. I am still hard. Want to flip around and see what other names you can make me forget?”

\-------------

Zuko woke up the next morning sore and weak. The hike was one thing, being fucked into oblivion is something else entirely. And that’s exactly what happened to Zuko. He’s pretty sure he fell asleep with Sokka emptying into him for the fifth or sixth time. And judging from the sun, that was about an hour ago. 

What on earth was he talking about? For a second, Zuko completely forgot how absolutely insane the day’s first thoughts had been. The events preceding their sex marathon bubbled back to the surface. Sokka’s blue glow. Their first kiss. Promises made and confessions spilt. It really happened. He told Sokka how he felt, and the world did not end. His friends will stand by him. Nothings going to get awkward or weird (well, fingers crossed) or somehow ruined. Zuko’s life had never been this perfect, a fact emphasized by some slight rustling on the part of Zuko’s big spoon which ended up pushing Sokka’s, impossibly, unfathomably, inexplicably still-hard dick right back into the cleft of Zuko’s ass. How that he thought about it, he was also hard again. They were never going to make if off this island. Zuko couldn’t care less. 

Whereas two days ago, the same situation made Zuko break out into nervous sweats. But now, he felt empowered to push back into his… what, boyfriend’s? sure… his boyfriend’s cock, enjoying the slight slide of Sokka’s foreskin as it moved slightly up and down the top of his ass. No more secrets. Honesty Life. 

Zuko was still almost too sore to move more than the slight rocking of his hips. But at the same time, he was unbelievably horny. Horny up to his eyeballs. The mere touch of Sokka’s limp arm slung around his waist was enough to set him off. He wanted to wake him up so they could get back to doing what, apparently, they do best. Or at least Sokka does best, that’s for sure. Zuko made a note to ask later how he acquired some scary sex skills, and how he possibly lasted as long as he did. Zuko certainly wasn’t complaining, even if by the end of it all he was still having toe-curling orgasms with not much to show for it. 

Zuko was about to wake Sokka up when he got a much better idea. He slowly extricated himself from their spooning, just enough so he could turn over on his side and possibly scoot down the bed. Getting that distance, Zuko got his first proper daytime look at his lover’s body. Planes of lithe muscle covered in dark golden skin, coarse dark hair in his armpits and around his cock, a little bit going up his abs, which where, for the moment, covered in dried cum. His legs were longer than he’d noticed before, similarly thin but full of compact muscle. He could just make out the slight curve of his ass, if he lifted himself up a bit. Zuko’s not going to be altogether too humble here, he knew he had an advantage in the ass department, but that didn’t stop him from salivating at the sight of it, remembering Sokka’s request that Zuko fuck him too. 

And then there was his cock, as imposing as ever. Zuko moved as slowly as possible down Sokka’s body, carefully fitting his torso between his legs. Zuko was face to face with it again, but seeing it from a new angle in a new light. It was as thick as he remembered, with a few prominent veins that Zuko hadn’t noticed the night before. Zuko was a little jealous. His cock was, for lack of a better term, fatter, smoother, certainly not as thick as Sokka’s, but filled out enough so that it didn’t really matter. Sokka had, by this point, rolled over just a bit in his sleep, so that he was fully on his back, his cock sticking straight into the air. Zuko got a little closer, taking in another deep inhale of his lover’s scent. Satisfied, he stuck his tongue out and gently, practically barely licked at Sokka’s loose, hot balls. He kept going getting more ambitious with each passing stripe. Sokka still hadn’t woken up fully, but Zuko could see, glinting in the light, a drop of precum forming at his tip. Emboldened, Zuko took one of Sokka’s balls in his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue before pulling on it gently. He did the same with the other, and Sokka slowly began to spread his legs. Zuko couldn’t tell if he was conscious of it or not, but that didn’t really matter. 

While he was sucking on Sokka’s balls, he had another, even better idea. He put his forefinger in his mouth, getting it a little wet, and, while continuing to lick at his boyfriend’s balls, brought that slick finger to touch gently upon Sokka’s hole. 

“You’re…. you’re killing me, Zuko.” 

Zuko pulled his mouth away and smiled, nuzzling into the spot where Sokka’s leg met his hips. He continued to stroke across Sokka’s hole. 

“What could you possibly be talking about?”

“My body is entirely destroyed, we’ve had an hour of sleep.”

“So, you don’t like this?”

“No, I love it, but I also need to sleep.”

“I thought you liked getting up early. This is around the time you usually wake me up.”

“Well I usually don’t… ahhhh fuck…. wake you up an hour after cumming inside of you for the…. spirits…. sixth time.”

“You really sound like you hate this,” Zuko responded, pressing his finger just a little more into Sokka’s hole. “So, you’re really going to hate this.”

Zuko quickly picked Sokka’s legs up, throwing them over his shoulders as he pressed forward, bending Sokka in half. Zuko added a slow, torturous lick across Sokka’s hole. 

“That is… not faaaaaair. Fuck. Sexual weaponry. But… well… that feels amazing. No one… no one’s ever done that to me before. Okay fine, keep, fuck, keep going, you horny fire bastard.”

Zuko smiled, spreading Sokka’s cheeks wider, licking into him a little deeper. He tasted like sweat and cum, all the good leftovers from the night before. 

“Really, no one’s ever rimmed you? Have you rimmed someone else?”

“No, and not before last… fuck fuck right there… night.” 

“So, you just always fantasized about doing that to me, but you’d never done it before? How were you so good at it??”

“Zuko you’re… you’re the first man I’ve ever slept with. Not that I couldn’t have done it with girls but I… fuck… don’t think I realized how much I wanted to do it until I saw you in your, gods, tight little bathing suit our first summer out here after the war.” 

Zuko could tell that Sokka was coming undone a little bit. His eyes were screwed shut, and when he wasn’t talking, he was biting his lower lip. He was shocked to hear this admission, though, just because Sokka was so damn good at it. Zuko’s fucked a few dozen men, but no one was able to make him feel the way Sokka did. 

He took a small break from rimming Sokka to readjust, get better leverage underneath his ass and lift him higher. Doing that, he noticed that, folded over like this, Sokka’s cock was hanging just a few inches from his own mouth. 

“Sokka….”

“What?”

“You look like you’re awfully close to sucking your own dick.”

“No, but I can definitely cum in my mouth. You want me to?”

Zuko nodded hard, “Yes. I’m going to rim you until you cum, and then I’m going to come up there and fuck your mouth. Deal?”

“Spirits, Zuko, yes, of course, deal.”

Sokka began jerking himself off, catching small drops of precum on his tongue as they feel from his cock. Zuko went back to his prize, delighting in the slow torture of lighting someone up with your tongue. And then delighting some more in the knowledge that he’s the first person who ever tasted Sokka like this, who made him squirm under him, who will ever fuck this tight ass. Zuko was so hard by this point, the sight of Sokka’s spread ass, his balls tightening, him biting his lip as he rode out Zuko’s tongue, all getting him close to the edge without even touching himself. But he needed some contact, desperately, so he took himself gently in hand and started teasing the tip, rolling his foreskin around between his fingers. He didn’t want to take it too far; he had a date with Sokka’s mouth coming up. 

Coming sooner than he thought, apparently, as Sokka began to pant harder beneath him, his toes curling in the air above him. Zuko wanted to keep rimming him, but he had to stop to watch Sokka shoot all over his face, lots of it getting in his mouth, but a few big ropes spreading across his cheeks and forehead. Zuko could not believe he had that much cum left. 

With Sokka still blissed out, Zuko lowered his hips back onto the bed and moved to straddle Sokka’s chest. Sokka got up on his elbows just enough to get a good angle, opening his mouth for Zuko’s cock and sucking at it greedily. Zuko realized that this would also be his first blowjob. So far, good marks. But Zuko wasn’t really looking for fancy teasing or skillful sucking right now. Right now, he just wanted to cum on Sokka’s face, and to that effect he began thrusting into Sokka’s mouth. He was afraid for a second that Sokka might be uncomfortable, but that quickly evaporated when Sokka brought his hand to grab Zuko’s base and began to bob on Zuko’s cock in rhythm. Zuko had no chance of lasting, grabbing on to Sokka’s hair and pulling him off his dick just in time for him to shoot a few more ropes across Sokka’s face. Sokka had his tongue out, eagerly licking his lips and searching for more of Zuko’s cum. After Zuko had stopped shooting, Sokka brought his lips around Zuko’s tender head and sucked gently, running his tongue as far as he could under Zuko’s foreskin. 

“Okay, well I guess we’re awake now.”

\------------

They decided they could spend a few more hours on the island before returning. Truthfully, neither of them were ready to go back. Zuko in particular. Zuko was afraid that the past day had been a kind of bubble in time and space, a secluded reality in which their honesty was possible and their love unproblematic. He wanted as much time in the bubble as possible. So, when Sokka suggested they go for a morning swim, Zuko jumped on the idea, though he was loathe to leave their bed. Zuko got up first, going over to the corner of the room in which their clothing had been carelessly tossed, and he went to put his bathing suit back on. 

“Don’t you think that’s unnecessary?”

Zuko looked back at Sokka, raising an eyebrow. He caught Sokka looking him up and down and instinctively blushed, still somehow not used to his lover seeing him so exposed. 

“What do you mean?”

“Deserted island, boyfriends, a crazy amount of sex, all of that kind of adds up to a clothing-optional situation, doesn’t it?”

He wasn’t wrong. Zuko tossed his shorts back into the pile and walked back over to the bed, grabbing Sokka’s arm to pull him out. If Sokka stayed there any longer, looking over at Zuko from his naked repose, there was a good chance that Zuko would just climb back in there and glue himself, in any number of senses, to Sokka’s side. 

Walking back to the shore, both men realized how completely spent they were, the lack of sleep and excessive cardio catching up to them hard. Their light sprint towards the waiting ocean slowed to a steady walk, which they took hand in hand. 

They spent the morning as they had the day before, watery hijinks the order of the day, except with the removal of a layer of anxiety and a layer of clothing. It didn’t take too long, though, for the two of them to collapse back on the black sand, Sokka’s head in Zuko’s lap. Zuko got up on his elbows to get a better look at his lover’s face, one eye screwed shut to block out the sun, the other looking back up at Zuko, a slight smile on his face. Zuko leaned back, hands behind his head, satisfied that this was still, somehow, real. 

“Sokka, did you mean what you said yesterday? I wouldn’t hold it against you if you made certain… promises under the circumstances. We were… both riding a bit of a wave.”

Sokka nodded, Zuko felt his head move against his stomach. 

“Yep. I meant it. I don’t want to spend another second pretending I don’t want to be with you forever. It was exhausting. Besides, I would love a royal title. Can we both be Fire Lord?”

Zuko laughed. “Well, there has not been much precedence for this. Usually, the partners of the Fire Lords don’t get a title, forget a male partner. You might just have to settle for Lord Sokka, unless you’re going to make a run for the throne. You did already steal my crown once. But I have a feeling you might be at a disadvantage in an Agni Kai.” 

“The Great and Powerful Lord Sokka will do just fine, I think. Are we… are we going to tell everyone when we get back?”

“Yeah, I think we should, right?”

“Yeah. Katara’s gonna lose it. She really thought that I was in love with the Ambassador from the Earth Kingdom. She probably owes Toph money now.”

“You think Toph knew?”

“Toph always knows.”

“Yeah… okay how’s this for a plan. We start by telling our friends when we get back, and then I make an official announcement to the court when we get back to the Fire Nation?”

“Aren’t people going to be… I don’t know… weird about it? You and a guy, a guy not from the Fire Nation?”

“Sure, maybe, but who cares. I’m Fire Lord. I get to make the rules.”

“Oooooh, very retro Fire Lord. Defining love with an iron fist. That’s so fucking hot.” 

Sokka lifted his torso up, and Zuko rose to meet him, joining in a soft kiss. 

\---------

They left their little island, reluctantly, around midday. Sokka got up to guide Appa, and Zuko climbed in the back on the saddle. He was asleep the moment they got into the air. 

After an uneventful few hours of flying, which Sokka spent talking animatedly to himself, pantomiming introducing himself as “Lord Sokka,” the two made it back to Ember Island, to the house they shared with their friends. Sokka went back to wake Zuko up on their descent.

“Showtime, love. You ready?”

Zuko nodded. 

They landed, jumping off Appa’s back near the front of the house, and found Aang, Katara, and Toph waiting for them in the courtyard, Aang showing off some new firebending trick he came up with. The others did not seem to notice their return, until Sokka cleared his throat loudly behind them. Katara spun around.

“You’re back! Tell us all about the island, I want to hear about the glowy blue stuff! Wait, why are you two holding hands?”

They looked at each other and laughed. Toph erupted in the background, “I KNEW IT.”

“Well, dear sister, I haven’t been totally honest with you. Neither has Zuko. Well… some stuff came up yesterday and, well, we’re together now.”

Sokka gave off a wide smile, hoping to deflect what was sure to be a wave of frustration from his sister. She wouldn’t care that he was seeing someone, or that that someone was a man, but Sokka knew she was going to be pissed that it was Zuko. 

“Are you telling me… that you’ve been sulking around the Water Tribe for YEARS because you were in love with ZUKO, your best friend, someone who you could have made a move on forever ago, who CLEARLY had feelings for you, we all knew it, and I think I even told you multiple times, and then you spend one night on some magical island and now that’s it, end of story, you two are just together forever?”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Spirits you two are thick. But I shouldn’t have expected any less. Okay, well, good, I’m happy for you both.”

She came and hugged the two of them, taking a moment to whisper an “I told you so” in Zuko’s ear. Aang quickly joined in on the hug, spouting all this stuff about how cool it was that they got together, how they could go on double dates, and on and on. Toph grumbled in the background, complaining that everyone else was either royalty or dating royalty and how she thought she should be the Earth Queen.

Katara pulled away for a second, the shock of it all clearly sinking in. After all this time, her brother was going to end up with that weird psycho who chased them halfway around the world. He was going to be Fire Nation royalty. 

“Spirits, Sokka, you are going to be really insufferable now. What, do we have to call you Prince Sokka? No, too formal, I think Consort Sokka will do fine.”

“Lord Sokka to you! Or whatever the Fire Sages say. But it’ll be Lord Sokka, the Great and Powerful Woo-er of History’s Most Emotionally-Constipated Fire Lord.” 

“Hey! You know that’s not true, you’ve met my father. And I told you eventually!”

“Yeah, I know, but just look at the ruse I had to create to finally get you to admit it. Secret island with glowing water? Crown theft? Honesty Day? I really went out of my way here.”

Zuko shoved him, the rest of the group in fits of laughter. They spent the rest of the afternoon in the courtyard, each of them talking about the possibilities of this new world. Zuko was mortified, but Sokka held his hand the entire time. 

\------------

Against the Fire Sage’s advice, Sokka and Zuko were married a few weeks after their return. Everyone thought it was too soon, to sudden, to possibly disruptive to whatever political landscape was taking shape in the early years after the war. The two of them heard nothing of it. Aang married them in a small ceremony, as per Zuko’s request, which was followed by a massive party attended by pretty much anyone they’d ever met, as per Sokka’s. Though Zuko was nervous about such a big crowd. He still forgot sometimes that he didn’t have to keep anything a secret anymore, that a crowd of people knowing he was in love with Sokka was now a good thing. Sokka’s hand in his, the two presented themselves to the crowd – Fire Lord Zuko wearing the blue choker of the Water Tribe, its blue pendant bearing the symbol of the Fire Nation, newly-named Lord Sokka adorned with the crown Zuko had worn as prince. Throughout the night, Zuko occasionally stole Sokka away from his band of admirers to kiss him hard against some hidden wall, a much-needed reminder that all this, them being there, now wed, in the sight of the world, something that even Zuko’s wildest and most indulgent fantasies had never conjured, was real.

\------------

Epilogue: Five Weeks Later

Zuko had woken up early that morning to get some training out of the way. He had a day of meetings planned, a sedentary nightmare, and he wanted to feel his body move just the tiniest bit. As he did every morning, he carefully peeled Sokka off of him, now more accustomed to sleeping in, and silently padded across the room, throwing on whatever little bit of clothing he needed. 

There was a small training yard in their wing of the palace, just enough space to do a little firebending. He went through a few forms, trying his best to keep from getting rusty. It had been a while since he’s had to use firebending for any kind of combat. All the nastiness notwithstanding, he appreciated that the war had given him the push to refine his bending and work his body. And that he’d made a few friends along the way. 

Bending practice slowly turned into a less-magical routine of stretches and push-ups and all those other horrific boring things. He hated it in the moment, but starting his day out like this always put a bit of a spring in his step, always helped him get through the more tedious parts of ruling. 

But, of course, Zuko was no warrior-monk. He liked working out as much as the next guy, but, if pushed, he would admit that he keeps to such a regular and arduous schedule because he knew that when he returned to his room, Sokka would jump his sweaty bones. 

Sure enough, Zuko opened his door to find a naked Sokka sprawled out on their bed, looking at Zuko hungrily. Zuko slowly pushed his hair back, giving Sokka a little smile, and stripped off his pants, leaving his underwear on, before padding over to their bed and his waiting husband. 

Without so much as a word, Sokka reached up and pulled Zuko down into a deep kiss. Zuko didn’t love getting back into bed all sweaty, but he’d do anything for Sokka, especially considering what Sokka was about to do to him. 

Sokka turned them around and straddled Zuko’s waist, pinning Zuko’s hands above his head. Zuko knew to keep them up there, but he also liked having Sokka hold him down like that. He arched his hips up, desperate for his clothed but hardening cock to make contact with his naked lover. He whined into Sokka’s mouth, always on the edge of being overwhelmed by the idea of a naked Sokka kissing him in the flesh. 

Sokka broke off his kiss and began his daily journey south, stopping to kiss and bite at Zuko’s neck while the pinned man continued to squirm in anticipation. 

“Someone’s horny this morning,” Sokka purred into Zuko’s ear. A meaningless statement, Zuko was continually this horny. But he knew just to nod and tell Sokka not to stop, to get his mouth back on him. 

“Don’t worry, love. I always take care of you, don’t I?”

Sokka gave Zuko a slight smirk before lowering his mouth to catch one of Zuko’s nipples in a light bite. Zuko cried out as Sokka swirled his tongue. 

“Zuko you smell so good. Fuck… you underneath me, all sweaty and desperate, it makes me so hard. I’m gonna taste all of you… And then I’m gonna fuck you right through this bed. And I don’t think I’m gonna stop. I think you’re gonna have to have your meetings in here all day, where I can have as much access to that ass as I want. And then I’ll let you fuck me until we pass out. Deal?”

Truthfully, that is how they spent most of their days. They’d not quite made it out of their sexual honeymoon phase, and Zuko didn’t think they ever would be. They’re making up for too much lost time. And the good thing about being Fire Lord is that you often get to make your own schedule, and Zuko made sure to leave ample time in his day for them to sink into each other to their heart’s content.

Zuko continued his light pleading, capped off by sharp inhale as Sokka’s tongue licked up and into his exposed armpit. It was one of Sokka’s favorite places on Zuko’s body, second only to his ass, and Sokka made a habit of spending a lot of time in both places every day. Sokka took his time licking up Zuko’s sweat, continuing to hold him down with his right hand as his left came down to slowly stroke his cock. Zuko was dying for Sokka to do that to him, but he knew his patience would be rewarded. 

Sokka eventually moved on, licking down Zuko’s body, catching some of the sweat that ran down Zuko’s abs. He couldn’t keep Zuko pinned any longer, so he brought both hands down to squeeze at Zuko’s pecs. Soon, though, he’d reached his prize. Zuko’s weeping cock strained against the damp fabric of his tight underwear, and Sokka immediately latched on to his head, swirling his tongue and sucking at the sweat-soaked fabric. Zuko buzzed below him, hands gripping their sheets as Sokka took a deep inhale. 

Sokka didn’t have to say anything for Zuko to know he was in heaven. Well, almost in heaven. The real show started when, any moment now, Sokka would flip him over, pull his shorts down just enough, and start rimming him. Zuko was dying for Sokka rip his shorts off then and sink his mouth down his cock, but he knew that he’d have to wait. Sokka wanted to take him apart, a bit at a time. 

As was silently promised, Sokka pulled away and forcefully flipped Zuko over. Zuko new the drill by heart. He pulled up his knees, stuck his ass in the air, and buried his face in a pillow, alight with the anticipation of Sokka’s tongue finally brushing against his hole. Sokka mounted him, grinding his cock into Zuko’s ass, and bent forward just enough so that Zuko could turn to the side and kiss him, the taste of his own body and sweat on Sokka’s lips. Sokka lifted up, brushing his hands down the muscles of Zuko’s back lightly with his nails, before roughly grabbing and spreading Zuko’s ass. Zuko yelped into the pillow with the first swipe of Sokka’s tongue, followed by Sokka’s satisfied but muffled moan. Sokka lifted one hand off Zuko’s ass, bringing it back down hard in a smack. Zuko pushed his face deeper into the pillow, choking out moans in between deep breaths. Sokka could, and probably has, do this a thousand times, and it would still make Zuko see stars. Having Sokka worship his body like that, licking at his most intimate parts, deriving such pleasure from making Zuko writhe below him, it was always fresh, always like this was the first time. Zuko pushed his hips back, hungrily but silently begging Sokka to go deeper. Or, perhaps even better, replace his tongue with his cock. 

But it didn’t look like Sokka was going to be rushed. Instead, Sokka moved his mouth down, pulling Zuko’s shorts with him, until he was able to lick at Zuko’s heavy balls. While he did that, Sokka slipped two fingers into Zuko’s waiting hole, pressing down on that secret spot and stretching Zuko out just enough. Zuko could hear Sokka going crazy, taking in deep breaths and grinding his cock into their bed. He kept stretching Zuko out while he pulled Zuko’s cock out through his legs, just enough so he could duck his head down and suck on Zuko’s head, sliding his foreskin around to gather up all of Zuko’s precum. 

“Fuck Zuko, your cock is so beautiful. Look at you, trembling and ready for me. You’re so perfect. I can feel you burning up underneath me. Are you ready for what’s next?”

Zuko practically sobbed into his pillow, nodding vigorously. 

Sokka stood on the bed, spreading his legs and bending his knees so that his cock was lined up with Zuko’s entrance. His hands on Zuko’s hips, he slowly started to enter him, and Zuko’s moans increased with every inch. Sokka never took his time with this part, not past his first entrance. Immediately, Sokka started pounding into Zuko, his own moans growing into a consistent roar as he gripped onto Zuko’s hip with one hand and used the other to grab Zuko’s hair and push him harder into the pillow. 

Zuko was well past the point of being able to form words. He could barely notice that he could barely breathe. Really all he was able to do was choke out strained moans through his smiling mouth. This was the best part of his day, every day, when he let his husband use his body however he wanted, when his body was ripped through with pleasure. Zuko felt a ringing building in his ears as his own orgasm mounted, approaching an untouched precipice. Sokka never let him take his shorts all the way off because he wanted Zuko to cum in them, and after they were done Zuko would suck Sokka’s cock clean while Sokka held Zuko’s sweaty, cum-streaked underwear to his face. 

Zuko’s orgasm ripped through him like an exploding airship, and he felt his cock pulse as he shot a heavy load into his underwear. Now his ears were properly ringing, his face completely flushed, unable to hear the whimpering cry he just let out, or Sokka’s building roar as he came close to filling Zuko. A few more thrusts and it was all over, Sokka grabbed Zuko tightly by the hips and pulled himself in deeper, panting as his cum shot inside his husband. Had they less to do that day, Sokka would take his time lapping at Zuko’s wrecked hole as his cum leaked out. Sokka collapsed on top of Zuko, pulling himself out and flopping down on the bed beside him. 

“Zuko, I didn’t smother you with that pillow did I?”

Zuko turned his head to look at Sokka, face still frozen in a look of pleasure, still panting, tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Well, looks like another job well done. Good morning, love.”

Sokka bent over to kiss Zuko sweetly, gently. Zuko could just move his lips to meet him, but could do little else. When sensation returned to his arms and legs, Zuko flipped himself over, shimmied off his shorts, and tossed them at Sokka, who grabbed them and immediately lifted them to his mouth, licking off his husband’s cum. 

Zuko moved his hand next to Sokka’s hip, turning it over. Sokka reached out his hand and entangled their fingers together, taking one last inhale before tossing the underwear aside and rolling over to cling to Zuko’s side. They laid there, panting, each basking in the everlasting surprise of their ridiculously good fortune, that their paths had crossed and that they had ended up where they belonged, in each other’s arms.


End file.
